Volume One: The Young Dragon Opens Its Eyes Chapter 150: The Strength of Oirat

Chapter 150: The Strength of Oirat

Many people believe that the land of Mongolia has never been populous, nor particularly developed, with an extremely fragile economic foundation.

This notion is partly right and partly wrong.

If we say it is right, a look back at the history of the Mongolian plateau shows that it was indeed like this for the majority of the time. However, this does not mean the Mongolian plateau never had periods of prosperity and development.

That specific era was none other than the reign of the Yuan Dynasty.

Back then, the Lingbei Province was built upon the blood, sweat, and tears of countless commoners from the Central Plains.

The Yuan Dynasty transported an untold amount of gold, silver, and treasures to the Lingbei Province and erected a multitude of imperial palaces there. To maintain the proper operation of these structures, a vast number of Han Chinese artisans were also stationed in the region.

Although the strength of Lingbei Province could not compare with many provinces in the Central Plains, it nonetheless represented the golden age of the Mongolian plateau at the time.

However, this prosperity—built upon an administrative system that defied natural laws—naturally collapsed and headed toward extinction following the downfall of the Yuan Dynasty.

Yet, Rome was not built in a day, nor could the destruction of Rome be accomplished in a day or two.

Although under the devastating blows of both the Hongwu Emperor and the Yongle Emperor, the economic foundation of Lingbei Province vanished almost instantly, leaving even the capital city of Karakorum in ruins, the wealth left behind by the Yuan Dynasty across these grasslands could not be wiped out all at once.

Arm armor and body armor constituted one of the most vital portions of this wealth.

After all, as long as armor was properly maintained, it could easily last for several decades.

As for the Western Regions?

Coming as he did from a later era, Zhu Qizhen naturally did not believe that everything outside the Central Plains was merely a barren wasteland. What particularly caught Zhu Qizhen's attention was that the Mongols had also established a series of khanates in the West.

Zhu Qizhen estimated that the Golden Horde was likely still ruling over Russia today. He wondered whether the Oirats maintained any contact with them, or whether the ancient Silk Road was still in operation.

And whether the Oirats had occupied a link in that chain.

Zhu Qizhen mentally prepared yet another task for the Jinyiwei. Naturally, he temporarily suppressed these thoughts and continued to listen as Zhang Fu recounted the Battle of Hulan Hushiwen.

Zhang Fu spoke: "Grand Duke of Rong, Liu Sheng, commanded the Divine Machine Battalion, deploying fire-lance firearms to bombard the Oirat iron cavalry in formation. The Oirat cavalry tumbled from their horses one after another, yet a considerable number still managed to charge into our ranks. The Grand Duke supervised the battle personally, and both sides fought to the death without retreating."

"Emperor Yongle divided his forces into two wings to assault the Oirat rear. Mahmud commanded from a superior height, but the main army could not break through."

"Seeing this, Emperor Yongle personally led several thousand of his elite personal guards to charge the enemy lines. I was guarding his left and right at the time. Having failed to smash the main body of the Divine Machine Battalion, the Oirat cavalry's aggressive momentum had already waned. When Emperor Yongle personally led his own troops to strike them, the morale of all divisions soared. Seeing that the general trend was lost, Mahmud fled with over ten thousand men. This battle yielded the capture of over one hundred thousand warhorses."

Hearing this, Zhu Qizhen silently thought to himself: "What a pity for Liu Sheng."

Liu Sheng was the final Ming commanding officer stationed in Annan, and he had died in battle there.

Previously, Zhu Qizhen had no particular impression of Liu Sheng. But hearing Zhang Fu's account now, he finally realized that Liu Sheng must have possessed unique and exceptional mastery over the command of firearms.

Otherwise, the Divine Machine Battalion could never have withstood the charge of the Oirat iron cavalry without collapsing.

This was because Zhu Qizhen had seen them before: these were primitive fire-lance guns, vastly inferior compared to the relatively mature firearms of the late Ming dynasty, which already bore a considerable resemblance to later-generation muskets.

In Zhu Qizhen's view, the early Ming fire-lances and similar weapons were simply far too crude.

In a massive military campaign, the human element remained paramount.

Zhu Qizhen was well aware that the future development of firearms was of the utmost importance and that they would eventually become the primary weapons on the battlefield; naturally, he wanted to steer military development in this direction.

If Liu Sheng were still alive, Zhu Qizhen would undoubtedly have entrusted him with heavy responsibilities.

It was only a pity that the man was no longer in this world.

Zhang Fu's voice continued in an unhurried tone.

"Although this battle thoroughly crushed the Oirat forces, our various divisions suffered substantial losses, which is why Emperor Yongle decided to order an immediate withdrawal. Along the road, the soldiers who successively fell ill and died from their wounds numbered nearly ten thousand—almost a quarter of the total force that participated in the campaign."

Zhu Qizhen let out a long sigh and said: "Campaigning across the grasslands is indeed arduous."

During the Yongle Emperor's five northern expeditions, the forces were often claimed to number half a million, but in reality, there were never half a million combat troops; that figure was merely the combined total of civilian laborers and fighting soldiers.

The true number of frontline combat troops never exceeded one hundred thousand in any single campaign.

Moreover, across the boundless grasslands, these fighting troops would not all be concentrated in a single strategic direction.

When the Yongle Emperor encountered the Oirats, Mahmud of the Oirat—the father of Toghon—had already made complete preparations. They had clearly lured the enemy deep into their territory, selecting the battlefield to fight a decisive battle against the Yongle Emperor.

Had the grasslands not been so vast and devoid of locations suitable for ambushes, Mahmud would surely never have readily engaged in a decisive showdown.

Even though the Yongle Emperor was outmaneuvered by Mahmud before the battle commenced, he ultimately turned the tide of the war thanks to the Divine Machine Battalion.

Even so, it made Zhu Qizhen feel all the more keenly that campaigning on the grasslands was fraught with perilous warfare, heavy difficulties, and an absence of favorable timing, geographical advantages, and human unity on their own side.

Regarding the matter of favorable timing.

Situated in high-latitude regions, the grasslands do not experience many months free of wind and snow, so the window of time for a large army to operate on the grasslands is limited. Otherwise, before even defeating the enemy, the harsh white-out blizzards of the steppe could swallow up the entire army.

Secondly, geographical advantage.

No matter how well the Ming dynasty understood the grasslands, they could never understand them better than the locals.

Thirdly, human unity.

That, naturally, goes without saying.

Having lived on the grasslands for hundreds of years, the Mongols were hardly going to bow their heads to the Ming Dynasty easily.

The more Zhu Qizhen pondered, the more cautious he became, and the more thoroughly he understood the reasons Zhang Fu had cited for why the Oirats could not be easily attacked. Even if they mustered all the cavalry of the Ming Dynasty—tens of thousands of horsemen marching beyond the frontiers—whether they could emerge victorious was truly a coin toss. Once defeated, however, the Nine Border Garrisons would be left entirely without cavalry. Lacking the mobility of cavalry, they could only passively take a beating.

This was a gamble Zhu Qizhen simply dared not make.

Zhu Qizhen said: "Since the Oirats cannot be attacked, and now that they are growing in power, leaving me sitting on pins and needles, how should the Grand Duke instruct me?"

Zhang Fu replied: "Your Majesty, that the Oirats cannot be actively attacked does not mean the Oirats cannot be defeated."

Zhu Qizhen instantly perked up and asked: "How can we defeat them?"

Zhang Fu explained: "The principle of military strategy is to use our own invincibility to await the enemy's vulnerability. Ever since Esen ascended to power, the Oirat leadership—from Mahmud to Toghon, and now Esen—have all coveted the throne of the Khan."

"Esen wishes to replace the Golden Family and become the Great Khan of the grasslands. To achieve this, he will inevitably march south to launch invasions, seeking the prestige of defeating our dynasty in order to advance his ambitions further."

"To march deep into the grasslands, undertaking a thousand-mile trek to pursue a fleeing enemy to the bitter end, is truly beyond our current capacity. However, if we fight a decisive battle against the Oirats near the Great Wall and defeat them there, that is by no means a difficult task."

"Your Majesty need only diligently cultivate internal governance, sharpen weapons and train horses, and await them in strict battle readiness. Once the Oirats are heavily defeated, Your Majesty can naturally dispatch multiple columns of troops to drive straight into the depths of the grasslands, pursuing the fleeing remnants and recreating the majestic might of Emperor Yongle."

Zhu Qizhen said: "Excellent."

As Zhu Qizhen carefully mulled it over, he had to admit one thing: Zhang Fu was indeed Zhang Fu.

Although Zhang Fu's strategy was not flashy, one had to admit its exceptionally high feasibility.

Even though the Tumu Crisis would occur in a later era, many people felt that if the Zhengtong Emperor had not listened to Wang Zhen's reckless meddling, the outcome of that campaign would still have been up in the air.

Zhang Fu's plan was the most practical one.

Even if this reality was not what Zhu Qizhen truly desired, he had no choice but to bow to reality. He said: "The words of the Duke of Ying are like parting the clouds to see the sun, instantly clearing my blocked thoughts. Henceforth, the strategy for the Nine Border Garrisons shall follow the Duke of Ying's plan."

"This subject thanks Your Majesty for your trust and reliance," Zhang Fu said.

Zhu Qizhen's expression suddenly shifted, and he said: "It's just that, Duke of Ying, it has been barely more than a decade since the era of Emperor Yongle, yet the once formidable iron cavalry of the Ming Dynasty have been reduced to a state where they cannot even venture beyond the frontier. If we allow this to drift for a few more years, until the main Oirat forces genuinely reach the line of the Great Wall, does the Duke of Ying truly have the certainty to defeat them in battle?"

The Duke of Ying, Zhang Fu, suddenly felt a chill run through his heart, and he thought to himself: "It has finally come."

There were many matters that Zhang Fu understood very clearly.

For instance, the affair concerning the 1.2 million troop vacancies uncovered by the Ministry of War.

Given Zhang Fu's capabilities, some matters below might have eluded him, but to suggest everything could be kept from him would be to underestimate a great general who had led troops to conquer a nation in his thirties.

It was simply that the interests intertwined within this were far too vast.

Moreover, Zhang Fu's temperament leaned closer to that of a classical literati official, and he was more inclined to blend in with the crowd and let things slide. To have him fall into a life-or-death struggle with brothers who had once stirred rice from the same pot on the battlefield—all over these vested interests—was hardly likely.

At most, the Duke of Ying could only preserve his own integrity and nothing more.